Friends Old and New

I had the pleasure of introducing old friends to new friends at Julia Pfeiffer State Park in Big Sur last week.

Shoreline at Julia Pfeiffer.
 Not a native plant, but a natural wonder.

The new friends were my roommates last week at an Esalen retreat two miles south, "Mindful Self-Compassion."  The old friends were coastal native plants.  "May I tell you their names?" I asked my roomies as we walked the trail to the waterfall.  I proceeded to point and name.  "Tell me when you get tired of this!"  But they claimed to be grateful to know the names of my native friends.

Three friends together on a sea cliff.  From left to right:  Black Sage (Salvia mellifera), Coyote Brush
(Baccharis pilularis), and CA Sagebrush (Artemisia californica.)
(Click on the photos to enlarge.)

Three friends together at the park entrance.
From left to right:  Sandy from Ontario, Terry and Naomi from L.A.

It bugs me when I don't know the name of a plant, just as it bugs me when I can't remember the name of a person.  (I am bugged a lot, but I am learning tricks...) Humor me when I say I have relationships with plants.  I want to know them by name; it helps me attend to them properly.

Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) require a little more awe than most friends.
Sort of like elder statesmen you actually meet in person. 

If ever you drive Highway 1 through Big Sur, Julia Pfeiffer is worth a stop.  Two short, wide loops take you to a dramatic ocean overlook complete with waterfall, or a grove of old growth redwoods, complete with fire-hollowed trunk "caves" and giant "fairy rings" (trees in a circle, daughters sprouted from a central mother that has since died.)

A surprise meeting: Western Columbine
(Aquilegia formosa) blooming very early along the sea cliff trail

Hello, I don't remember meeting you.
Looking you up at Calflora, might you be CA Polypody?

The wonder of a native garden is that I get to take my friends home with me.  But it is still a treat to meet them at their home. 

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